The House-passed Farm Bill includes important wins for organic agriculture, reflecting the meaningful advocacy by OTA members, partners, and organic champions across the country.
As the Farm Bill moves to the Senate, the organic sector has a clear message: organic cannot be treated as an afterthought. It is a growing, trusted, and high-value part of American agriculture, and federal policy should reflect that.
The U.S. organic market now exceeds $76 billion and is projected to reach $100 billion by 2030. That growth is driven by consumers who choose organic because they trust what the USDA Organic seal means. Protecting that trust requires strong standards, effective enforcement, sound data, practical technical assistance, and investments that help more U.S. farmers and businesses participate in organic.
What the House Bill Gets Right
The House Farm Bill includes several meaningful provisions for organic.
One of the most significant is the inclusion of risk-based organic oversight reforms. Today, organic operations are often subject to the same inspection structure regardless of the actual risk posed to organic integrity. The House bill creates a framework that would allow oversight to be better scaled to risk, while maintaining strong enforcement where it matters most. This is a practical step toward protecting the credibility of the USDA Organic seal while driving efficiency by reducing unnecessary burden for lower-risk operations.
The bill also reauthorizes the Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative through fiscal year 2031, maintaining one of USDA’s core organic research programs. It also solidifies grant authority focused on the transition to organic, including research on transition barriers, organic practices, and tools for measuring outcomes.
Organic data also receives attention. The bill extends the Organic Production and Market Data Initiative through 2031 and adds new organic dairy data requirements, including organic feed prices, cost of production, organic milk prices, regional reporting, and periodic organic milk reports. Better data helps farmers, processors, retailers, policymakers, and investors make better decisions in a fast-growing market.
The House bill would also raise the payment limit for EQIP conservation practices related to organic production from $140,000 to $200,000 for fiscal years 2027 through 2031. This matters because organic producers often face higher costs when implementing conservation practices that fit organic systems.
Other provisions would strengthen USDA’s ability to support organic production through technical assistance, outreach, and education, while also requiring USDA to report on barriers that prevent or limit organic farms from participating in USDA programs. That report could help identify where federal programs are not working well for organic producers and where future improvements are needed.
The Senate Must Go Further
The next phase of the Farm Bill debate will be critical.
OTA has already been engaging with Senate leadership, and work on the Senate Farm Bill is underway. The opportunity now is for the Senate to build on the House bill and elevate organic priorities further.
That means creating stronger incentives and removing barriers to bring more organic production online in the United States. It means maintaining a strong National Organic Program. It means supporting expedient enforcement, better data, organic research, transition assistance, and domestic supply chain infrastructure, including the types of investments proposed in the Domestic Organic Investment Act.
Organic farmers, businesses, and consumers are a constituency that cannot be ignored. The sector is growing and thriving, consumer demand is strong, and the opportunity for American agriculture is abundantly clear.
What Comes Next
OTA will continue working with lawmakers, members, and partners to ensure the final Farm Bill reflects the full scope of what organic needs to continue to deliver for farmers, businesses, consumers, and communities. The Farm Bill should help unlock its full potential.